Fairness of Bail System to Be Discussed at Forum

The fairness of America's bail system and the role of private bail bond companies and corporations in determining who will go free pending trial will be the subject of a Community Forum in Newbury Park on Friday, Dec. 8.

Jessica Farris, director of criminal justice at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, and Jonathan Hirschberg of Bend the Arc, a Jewish partnership for justice, will discuss current bail practices and how they impact the poor and people of color at the 7:30 p.m. forum at the Conejo Valley Unitarian Fellowship, 3327 Old Conejo Road.

Advocates for reform have been saying that even a few days in jail can lead to someone losing their job, losing child custody or being evicted if they are too poor to post bail, yet many are held in confinement for weeks or months before trial. For-profit bail bond agencies backed by some large insurance corporations decide who they will accept as risks, what fees and costs the clients will pay and what collateral will be required. The forum will explore alternatives to the bail system to protect the community and ensure that people come to court, regardless of their ability to pay.

A report issued in May by the ACLU's Campaign for Smart Justice and the advocacy group Color of Change said that on any given day, around 440,000 people are detained in the United States without having been convicted of a crime, accounting for 70 percent of the people in jail. According to the report, determinations of bail amounts are racially disparate, compounding a disparity in arrests, charges, and incarceration faced by black people at every stage of the criminal justice system.

The discussion, hosted by the Conejo Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Community Forum, is open to the public at no cost; donations are welcomed. For information, visit forum.cvuuf.org or call the church office at (805) 498-9548.